The former Olympic wrestling silver medalist knocked Luke Rockhold out in the main event, landing with a thunderous punch and following it up with one more on the ground for a third round knockout victory.

But on Friday, Romero was unable to make weight, forfeiting a portion of his fight purse to Rockhold and a chance to become the interim UFC middleweight champion.

Both sides came to an agreement to continue the fight at a catchweight, but only Rockhold – a former UFC champion – was eligible to win the title. Romero was bested by Robert Whittaker last year for the interim belt.

In the night’s co-main event, Curtis Blaydes earned his biggest win to date, scoring a convincing decision over Mark Hunt.

Blaydes, a 26-year-old from Chicago, pushed his current win streak to three in a row. He is now 9-1 with a no-contest overall and 4-1 inside the Octagon. His lone loss came to former title challenger Francis Ngannou back in 2016.

For Hunt, the loss dropped him to 13-12-1 overall with a no-contest. The New Zealand native was coming off a fourth round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.